"Nobody died": IndyCar insider hits back at fans for incessantly attacking FOX's TV failure

The broadcast of IndyCar's Thermal Club Grand Prix on March 23 fell victim to a failed circuit breaker in the TV compound at the 3.067-mile circuit. FOX's broadcast was abruptly cut off on lap 28 of 65. While the international broadcast continued to show TV static (the fuzzy black and white screen), FOX shifted to commercials in the US broadcast and eventually started broadcasting NASCAR's Homestead-Miami race.

Fans were furious with FOX as the unexpected break lasted for over 15 minutes. The international broadcast resumed in lap 35 with no commentary. The sound finally came back in lap 40, when the US broadcast was resumed. However, the mishap is what fans held onto even after the race weekend was concluded.

IndyCar insider Marshall Pruett tried to put an end to the tireless criticism on the RACER mailbag in response to a fan's question.

"A first-time problem with a blown circuit breaker, one that took 21 minutes of racing away, is being treated like the biggest failure imaginable by some who I can only assume live in a world of perfection where they never make mistakes or are subject to misfortune. It happened. It was bad. But nobody died," Pruett wrote.

He also drew an intriguing analogy to give fans a perspective of what unfolded during the eagerly anticipated race at Thermal Club.

"This wasn’t a hospital that lost power and went dark in the middle of a surgery. We didn’t get to see 21 minutes of a damn boring stretch of the race. If anything, the timing of the problem made the race better since some of the nothingness wasn’t aired. Pato O’Ward led, and kept leading," Pruett added.

Lucky for FOX, the Thermal Club circuit arguably didn't have as exciting racing as fans would've liked. The track took a lot of flak for producing slow and uninspiring battles, except Alex Palou's thrilling battle with the two Arrow McLaren drivers in the final third of the race to take his second consecutive win of 2025.

IndyCar loses over 50% of TV audience as NASCAR and F1 set the bar

INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Source: Getty

FOX released its viewership numbers for the Thermal Club Grand Prix on Tuesday. The race averaged 704,000 viewers, 11% down from last year's non-championship race at Thermal and a colossal 50% drop compared to the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 2, which averaged 1.417 million viewers.

Comparatively, the NASCAR Cup Series Homestead-Miami race, which was broadcast on FS1, averaged 2.464 million viewers. Moreover, IndyCar was also beaten by F1's Chinese GP on ESPN, which averaged 824,000 viewers in the US despite being broadcast at 3 am ET.

NASCAR's Parker Kligerman called the IndyCar/NASCAR simultaneous scheduling a "crime". IndyCar's next race is the 50th edition of the Long Beach Grand Prix on April 13. It will clash with NASCAR's Cup race at Bristol, which begins 90 minutes before.